Baud-Bovy and Lawson (2002) have definitions for leisure, recreation and recreational

activities :
❑ Leisure is free time available to the individual when the disciplines of work, sleep and
other basic needs have been met. It is time which can be used in ways determined by the
individual’s own discretion. Basic needs include essential cooking, shopping, housework,
childcare and hygiene. Work includes travel time to and from work.
❑ Recreation covers broadly any pursuit taken up during leisure time other than those to
which people have a high commitment (overtime, second job, home study and various
maintenance jobs around the house). Tribe (2005) adds that recreational pursuits include
home-based activities such as reading and watching television, and those outside the
home including sports, theatre, cinema and tourism.
❑ Recreational activities are broadly grouped by Baud-Bovy and Lawson (2002) into six
categories, taking into account their nature and the types of facilities used.
❑ Tourism: visiting for at least one night for leisure and holiday, business, professional or
other tourism purposes (Tribe 2005)
*(Baud-Bovy and Lawson 2002, Tribe 2005)
Boundaries between recreation and tourism are indistinct, as both activities often share the
same environments and facilities and compete for space and finance (Baud-Bovy and
Lawson 2002):
❑ Steps taken to improve the environment and to conserve and restore the national
heritage benefit both recreation and tourism;
❑ High quality provision for local recreation (ice rinks, yacht moorings, golf courses)
will often enhance tourism interest in the area and generate demands for
accommodation and other services.
❑ Tourism products may also be created by improvements in cultural resources
(museums, concerts halls, theatres);
❑ Exotic leisure developments such as theme parks or ski resorts invariably need to
attract tourists as well as day users. Hotels and resort facilities may partly rely on
revenues generated by local users (functions, club membership, restaurant usage etc.).

It is really hard to draw a line where recreation ends and tourism starts. When not talking
about statistics then it is also not so important. It is important to understand that both try to
save environment and use it as sustainable as possible. Also both have to main target groups –
locals and tourists. Both groups can use and benefit from facilities developed in the area.
Play is activity of any kind, mental or physical, it is undertaken freely and usually
spontaneously (Torkildsen 1999). So it can be concluded that play is something we do and
there is no compulsion and mostly it is unplanned. Torkildsen (1999) has added that play is
fun, purposeless, self-initiated and often extremely serious; play is indulged in for its own
sake; it has intrinsic value; and there is innate satisfaction in the doing.

Play and games are vitally important in our culture. Play transports the player, as it were,
to a world outside his or her normal world. It can heighten arousal. It can be vivid,
colourful, creative and innovative. Because the player shrugs off inhibitions and is lost in
the play, it seems to be much harder for adults with social and personal inhibitions really to
play. (Torkildsen 1999)

Playfulness is a very important part of “healthy’ and ‘wholesome” living, and it has
implications for leisure behaviour and opportunity. Those people whose living embraces
spontaneity, manifest joy and a sense of humour are probably better able to deal with the
freedom and choice that are present in leisure. (Torkildsen 1999)
These similarities emphasize that play, recreation and leisure are integrated and they appear,
collectively, to have an inner core. Several words, ideas or themes are used frequently in
describing each concept of play, recreation and leisure, including the following :
 Play can be described as activity, freely
chosen and indulged in for its own sake for
the satisfaction it brings in the doing; it
exhibits childlike characteristics of
spontaneity, self-expression and a creation
of its own special meaning in a play world.
Recreation, unlike play, appears to need to
be justified, “keeps youth off the streets”,
“produces good citizens”. It carries greater
social responsibilities than “leisure”.

“Pleisure” at the heart of play, recreation and leisure experience

(Torkildsen 1999)

Re-creation is another meaning. In its purest sense, it is characterized by an inner-consuming experience

of oneness that leads to revival. Like all feelings, it can have different strengths. At its strongest, it can
be a “peak” experience. Recreation experience therefore renews, restores and “recharges the batteries”—
in our waking moments. Like sleep, it is a process of re-creating! Leisure is perceived in different
ways— time, activity, experience, state of being, a way of life, and so on.
 Maslow’s hierarchy of needs (Wright 1998:53)

According to Maslow’s theory, people are motivated to buy leisure and travel products that satisfy their
needs for social interaction, esteem, respect, and self-actualization (Wright 1998). It means that basic
needs must be satisfied before people are starting to think about travelling. you don’t care about very
good recreational facilities that may help to satisfy self-actualization need before you have got your
meal and drink.
❑ In order to be successful in leisure business, it is important to understand people’s
needs, wants and motivation.
❑ Also consumer behaviour and the process how decisions are made when choosing
destinations.
❑ Tourist behaviour and decision-making process can be seen as part of the
behavioural geography.
❑ According to Cooper et al. (1998) it is necessary to study consumer behaviour to be
aware of:
❑ The needs, purchase motives and decision process associated with the consumption
of leisure and tourism;
• the impact of the different effects of various promotional tactics;
• the possible perception of risk for leisure purchases;
• the different market segments based upon purchase behaviour;
• how managers can improve their chance of marketing success.
❑ According to Wall and Mathieson (2006) the decision-making process involves five
principal and interacting phases:
• felt need or travel desire,
• information collection and evaluation,
• purchase or travel decisions,
• travel preparations and travel experience,
• travel satisfaction evaluation.